Life as a princess
by ahndja
Summary: Andromeda is a princess. Spoilers to DH!


Alright, this is my first English fanfiction. I am no native speaker, so please be gentle with me. Reviews are welcome!

**Content:** Andromeda is a princess.

**Warnings:** Spoilers to DH; Sadfic

* * *

Life_ as_** a**_** princess**_

She does not remember, but when she is born, her mother stares at her in badly-suppressed wonder. No wail comes from her, no sound at all, what defines her is this curious gaze from sleepy eyes which asks everyone what all the fuss is about. It's exactly what her three-year-old sister asks when she reluctantly steps forward to look at the new baby. "It's just a bundle of wrinkles, and it _smells_," Bellatrix complains and hurries out of the room. Her mother huffs once, but does not admonish her elder daughter.

Her father looks at her and sees just _so many _chances. Sure, she's not a boy, not an heir, but then, they will just marry her off to a rich pureblood scion and things will be fine. She's his second princess, and he is going to lay the world at her feet.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

She is seven years old and she feels like she owns the world. She is mother and father's favourite. Bellatrix and Narcissa are too demanding, always yelling or whining they _wantwantwant_. Andromeda does not. She simply _expects_ to be given what she wants. And if she does not get it (which does not happen very often) there will always be some kind of vicious revenge (not petty, Andromeda is never petty. She is vicious and cruel and inventive, but never petty. That is below her). She is a Black as pure as one can imagine.

Bella is only cruel, and Cissy is only petty. They know nothing of the finer arts of getting what you want. They throw tantrums and hold their breath until they turn blue and they yell at the house elves for no reason at all but for the sake of yelling. Or worse, they cry and wail and sulk for days. It is disgusting, Andromeda thinks. Mother and father get angry when the girls cry, saying it is not behaviour worthy of a Black. After feeling the Cruciatus curse just once, Andromeda swears she'll never cry again. Bella and Cissy don't learn their lesson, and Andromeda stucks up her nose at them.

All the while, she _adores_ her younger cousin Sirius. He's not even two years old, but he always cracks her up. He is all smiles and twinkling eyes and thrown food. Baby Regulus is not. He is screams and yells and sniffling. He is like Cissy, and Andromeda detests her younger sister. Cissy is her junior by one year and she is _so_ girly. Andromeda thinks it is undignified.

The only girly thing she loves is fairytales. The ones where there is a princess who is cherished by her parents and loved by the handsome prince and who always gets what she wants. Andromeda feels it is a role just made for her. She is the perfect princess. Everybody says so.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

She feels like she's flying when the owl with her Hogwarts letter arrives. Finallyfinally_finally _she'd leave for school, leave her parents and Cissy back home and make someone out of herself. Sure, Bella'd be in Hogwarts, too, but they hated each other anyway and try and keep out of each other's way which will be much easier soon because Hogwarts is just so big.

Finally, she'd be free of rules and manners and boring dinner parties where she'd be ignored for being too young.

Finally, she'd have a whole castle all to herself which she'd be able to explore. It would be hers, and hers alone, she knows that.

She gets sorted into Slytherin, however, and she has to realise that most of her dreams won't come true.

She does get her castle, though, and while she sits at the Slytherin table, with a straight back and impeccable eating manners, she thinks it's not too bad for the beginning. She'd get what she wants in the end, she knows, because she always does. She's a princess, after all, and even upperclassmen bow to her, the younger Black sister.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

She is on top of the world, she feels, when Ted tells her for the first time that he loves her. She doesn't care that he's muggleborn. She only cares about his lips on hers and his hands on her body and his hair between her fingers. She's finally found her Prince Charming, she knows for sure.

It's not easy keeping it secret in front of her family. She knows that Sirius knows, but he'd never tell on her. She bribes Regulus to keep his mouth shut, and she knows his loyalty is worth most when it's bought. Bella would never even consider a sister of hers turning bloodtraitor. Cissy fawns over Lucius Malfoy all the time anyway, so there's no problem.

Andromeda does not cry during her wedding – she hasn't cried since she was a little girl – but if she could, she would. Instead, she tries to put all the love she feels into the look she gives Ted after their kiss but it's still not enough. She tries again when they lie in bed and she writhes underneath him. She feels he knows when he quietly sobs into her shoulder and smiles at her with a joy she is sure is only rivalled by her own.

They are prince and princess, and she is sure they will live happily ever after. It's what she always wanted, and again, she got it. She's the perfect princess.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Andromeda knows she's gotten a rival for the title of most beautiful princess in the world when she looks at her newborn daughter. She's got a feeling the little girl will always hate her for naming her Nymphadora, but Andromeda feels it is the perfect name. Her daughter is like a little nymph, always giggling and smiling and wriggling in her crib as if trying to dance around.

She is always proud of her daughter, no matter what. Even when she's scared out of her mind when Dora announces she wants to be an Auror. When she almost dies of fright as Dora is at St. Mungo's after the fight in the Department of Mysteries where her cousin Sirius died. And she's never been more proud when Dora introduces her and Ted to Remus because her daughter being engaged to a werewolf means that she, at least, is completely free of her Black ancestry. Remus might think they don't like him, but they do love him like they love Dora. He has made their family complete. There's two royal couples now.

Andromeda thinks there has never been a princess any happier than she is.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

They know it's dangerous to stand against the Dark Lord and his forces. They do it anyway. Andromeda feels it's a way of repaying society for all the gruesome things her sisters and brothers-in-law and nephew have done. By fighting the Dark Lord and his forces, she supports her daughter who lives for the fight. By fighting the Dark Lord and his forces, she keeps the memory of Sirius alive who was the first Black to openly fight against the Dark Arts and everything their family stands for. And she does it because James was such an adorable young boy and remarkable young man and Lily kept Sirius from being too much of an arrogant git.

So, it hurts even more when their son and godson blanches upon seeing her and starts yelling at her. For a moment, she sees the hate in his eyes when he mistakes her for her older sister. His shame eases the pain only a little bit. She is so scared for her daughter and her son-in-law, and now the young man in whom the whole wizarding world has put their hopes likens her to her mad sister. She asks herself if she will ever be free of her family.

She confides in her husband later that night, after they made sure the children were alright, after they learned of Alastor's death and raised their glasses for him. Ted hugs her and runs his fingers through her luscious hair and softly touches her cheek.

"I'm sure he was sorry, Dromeda," he whispers. "And if anything, after he recognised you, it was only awe for your beauty that silenced him." With these words, he covers her face with little butterfly kisses, and Andromeda can finally smile again.

No matter how bad things were, as long as she was safe and secure in Ted's arms, things would be alright. He was her prince and she was his princess, and they would live happily ever after, just like they said at their wedding.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

The day she learns of Ted's death, her world shatters. All this time, she'd been hoping and praying this madness would soon be over and that he'd just walk through the door of their house again. But he doesn't. Instead, she hears the boy's voice on the wireless, asking for a minute of silence for her dead husband and some others. She doesn't care about those others. She cares about how she learns of her husband's death via wireless and that there's nobody home to share her grief.

Her prince is dead. They had been the most beautiful couple to ever walk the face of the Earth (even more so than her daughter and Remus, as much as it hurts Andromeda to admit it), but now there's only one half of "them" left.

The prince had fought the dragon, but this time, the dragon's won and the princess can't hope to ever see him again.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Her world shatters again when she stares down at their bodies. Nymphadora looks so peaceful, and somebody has wrapped Remus' arm around her, as if he was protecting her. But he couldn't protect her anymore, not now, because they were both dead and nothing would ever change this. No matter what other people said, Andromeda does not believe there was a life after death. When you died, you were dead, period.

All around her, families and friends are sobbing into each other's arms, breaking down, shaking their dead until their limbs all but flap about in some kind of macabre dance. Others stand stony-faced while tears stream down their cheeks. Andromeda does neither. Gracefully, she bends down and picks up Remus' arm, placing it on his own chest. There was no need for such useless symbolism. Her cheeks are dry when she stands up again and gazes down on her only child. She does not cry – _You are a Black, silly child, and Blacks don't cry, ever!_ – when she realises she is completely alone now. Every second, people younger than Nymphadora carry more and more dead into the Great Hall. She will have to raise her grandson all by herself. Nymphadora will never see his first steps, hear his first word, kiss his first bruise. Remus will never teach him how to ride a broom, tell him not to bother what the other children said because they were just envious, tease him with his first crush.

Andromeda remembers what Bellatrix (who is also dead now, and _Merlin_, why is almost her whole family dead, why _her_, why not the others, she was a _Black_, damn it, and nothing bad ever happens to Blacks, it's _them_ who happen to _others_) told her when she asked why the princess always gets saved from the bad dragon.

"Silly, it's the princess who will always live. The others don't matter anyway, the story's not about them. Everyone knows that, stupid!"

If this was the life of a princess, Andromeda would much rather be a beggar.


End file.
